


My Fallen Angel

by TheNextAuthor



Series: Fallen Angel Trilogy [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-08
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-09-30 17:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10168511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNextAuthor/pseuds/TheNextAuthor
Summary: There are some secrets just to toxic to tell your family. Reality hurts. And depending on the dream, it might hurt just as much, especially when your brother is a fallen angel





	1. Introduction

This story came when I was reading a book about dreams. It has a certain flair to it I think but that's just me.

MY FALLEN ANGEL

Part 1

If you're flawless, then you've got my love

Don't forget to keep those bruises, cuts and scrapes hidden

Fight a little harder

You've got to work 24/7

And make me proud

How long till you screw it up

How many times do I have to tell you

To do it better

What's the problem… why are you crying?

That wasn't good enough

You are failing.

Stop crying

Do you like being useless

We'll love you just the way you are if your perfect

-Guess who ?


	2. Prologue

Prologue: Raph

I am awakened by the creaking of my door. I would yell at who is ever in my bedroom but I'm too tired to care at this point. Unless it's Mikey. Then I'll be mad. But considering it's extra quiet, I think its not.

Anyhow, I ignore them. I'll deal with whoever it is tomorrow. Especially, since they woke me from a good dream. It is easier just to lay still and sleep. Whoever it is can just blow their business out their shells. And they better beware for morning. It is never good when I am a jerk in the morning. I just want to go back to my dream. The dream of when I – we- were little.

Leo's eyes are a light blue instead of dark. He has a grin. It's almost as big as mine. Little Leo is wrestling with me. I grab his mask that almost covers his face. I pull it over his eyes. He squeals.

I look around. Mikey is staining his orange mask with all the food he is eating. Donnie is on the couch with Sensei playing a tactical game.

I look back at Leo. He is laughing with me because my life is full of fun. Leo finally gets his bandana back in place. We lock eyes and smile.

"Muzzle," Leo smiles, poking my nose. I smile back. This is the game we play when I'm upset. I reach up to poke his muzzle. As I graze his nose, he disappears.

That's when the door creaks open. Now I'm lying here, fuming mad. Leo used to be fun. Leo used to hang out with me every day. He sang. He'd sing to make Mikey laugh. He sang to make Donnie and Master Splinter smile. He'd sing to us to make us sleep. Leo and I did karaoke. I would always yell when he screamed so well on rock songs. I was so jealous that I couldn't scream.

But then… he stopped.

Leo didn't play games anymore. He stopped singing. He didn't do Muzzle, Muzzle with me anymore. I couldn't talk to him because without Muzzle, Muzzle, I just couldn't open up. Leo became different and as he did, so did everyone else.

Time passed by and Mikey started saying he wasn't a baby. Donnie is always in his lab, hardly ever comes out. And since I know Casey now, I'm hardly ever home. So Leo changed and we only saw him on missions, at meals, training, and occasional free times. Mikey doesn't notice and Don doesn't care. But I notice and care. It's like little Leo never existed and he's always been a perfect son.

I miss Leo.

My bed slumps a little by my head. I open my eyes. Spike is looking at me.

"Hey, Spike." I smile and pet him. He looks at my door. I follow his gaze to see my door close on a dark-blue eyed turtle.

"Leo?" I whisper. I look at my clock. Three a.m. What the shell? Why is he up so early? Or is he still awake from yesterday?

There are whispers outside my room, then a smack. Leo's door creaks open, then closes. Finally, he's going to bed. No wonder he's so tired all the time. Whatever cracks his shell, though.

I think I'll dream some more. It's the only way I'll be able to see fun Leo. I think I'll call that Leo Leondo. Yeah. That way I can separate the two.

Sometimes the dream world is so much better than the real world.


	3. Spike

I am writing this story between when Slash leaves and Casey has become Raph's best friend. Spike in my version in not yet Slash. I also love Master Splinter. He is a great father. I disapprove all his actions in this story but was necessary for future events in this tale.

1: Leo

SPIKE

Shell, I hope he forgot the conversation I had with April. Please, please, forget, please, please…

A hand catches me across the back of the head. "So I hit you?"

I should have known. He's not going to forget that easy.

I don't answer. He comes in front of me. He fills my vision with his red robe. I swallow and focus on my exercise.

"I slap you for being worthless." He growls. My crane stance wavers, "It's your fault for being worthless."

Ignoring. Focus on the wall inches from my fingers. Focus on the door feet behind me. Focus on-

Another hit across the head sends me into the wall. I don't move. Anything I could do could add to his anger.

"I hit you, useless? You don't know what hitting is. This is hitting." He smacks me directly in the face. I taste blood as I bite my tongue. My head rings at the next hit, "And this, and this…"

I do my best to protect myself. But eh barrage of blows just keep coming. The beating lasted for five more minutes. Once the fists stop raining down on me, I slump to the floor. I'm afraid to look at Sensei.

Why does he hate me, hurt me? I didn't answer whey when April asked and I don't want to know why. All I know is this has been going on for a while.

"I'm sorry," I find myself whimpering.

"No, you're not," Sensei growls back. His fist nails me in the temple. Things go fuzzy for a while, then clears up. "You're a stupid boy. If you ever say a word about what I do to you again, I'll make sure you know what hitting is."

"I-It won't happen again," I sniff.

"It better not," with that he leaves the dojo. I lay there for a while, wishing I could just die. Finally I get my shell up and go to the bathroom.

As soon as I get to the bathroom, THWAM! I trip over something and fall on my face. I look behind me.

"Raph," I hiss between my teeth. Spike is right next to my feet glaring at me. I pick him up while he tries to bite my hand. "One day Raph will learn not to leave you lying around. If I don't get rid of you, Sensei will."

Spike makes a croaking noise.

As I step into the bathroom, I gag. The whole place smells like Raid.

"Whew. Did Raph find a cockroach in here again?" I say. Spike moves his mouth as if to say yes. I roll my eyes. Raph and his fears. I wonder if he used up the whole bottle this time.

I put Spike on the sink and look into the fogged up mirror. Our mirror is cracked horizontally down the mirror and a piece is missing. A piece I took.

My face is swollen. Bruises are starting to appear. I take off my mask. My eye is turning black. Blood is slowly running down my chin. I groan.

"Why does my life suck so much?" I moan. Spike just blinks." I better get you back you Raph. One day he'll learn, but not today."

Spike bites at my finger. I ignore the mean gesture and tuck him under my arm.

Raph's room is by mine. His red stop sign glares at me in the dark. Yeah, I'd stop and go away if I didn't have to deliver Spike.

As his door creaks open, Raph shakes. I wonder if I woke him. I certainly hope not. Spike croaks again. I look at him and put one finger to my lips. Without a sound, I put Spike next to Raph's head and start to leave.

"Hey, Spike," Raph suddenly mumbles. I quickly get out of his room. I don't need him seeing me.

He does see me though. Right as I close the door, our eyes lock for a split second.

I speed walk to my room. I don't want to run into any of my brothers or Sensei. Unfortunately, I do run into the latter.

"I thought I told you to leave Raphael's turtle alone."

I shrink," But Raphael needs Spike and I can't just let you-"

There's a loud smack as Sensei's hand connects with my cheek.

"One more time, Leonardo. One more time." Then he's gone.

I feel sick and … dead inside. I wish I was dead. I quickly slip into my room. I lean against my door, breathing hard. My wrists seem to itch and call for the mirror shard. I promised April I wouldn't hurt myself anymore but… promises are hard to keep.

I almost sprint to my bed. The shard is under my mattress, waiting for the next cut. I swiftly grab it. It is the shape of a triangle. A very sharp triangle.

I hug the shard to my chest. Then I poke my finger on the blade. Blood rolls down it, my finger and the shard. Sharp as ever.

Finally, I put the jagged edge to my newly exposed wrist. The cold glass feels good against my skin. I push a little harder.

Three little things is all that's stopping me from ending it all. Three. Little. Things are stopping me from cutting to deep.

Slowly I push harder and harder still. It feels good to push. It feels good to almost feel dead. Getting closer every time I cut.

Red starts appearing, pouring into my open hand, down my arm and dying the glass. There is no pain, just warm numbness.

There's a clang outside my room so I shove the shard back under my mattress. With a groan and a grunt, I plop onto my bed. I burry my head into my pillow, chocking back a sob.

I never have a good day. Even the days that seem so perfect a whipped away with one blow from his fists or a word from Raph. A laugh from Mikey or a look from Donnie. Even Casey, Spike and Ice Cream Kittie can take a day away.

I'm sliding into my personal hell and fast. The place where everything is worse yet better all at once.

April is trying to stop all this, but she can't. She doesn't know what it is like to live in this hell hole. She doesn't know what it feels like to be nothing. Maybe even less than that.

I grip the pillow tighter, tempted to suffocate myself and die. Why can't I pull this through? Why is it so hard to kill myself?

Now that I know the answer to. The three little reasons. Three little brothers. Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello. I can't leave them in Sensei's hands.

Useless. Worthless. Nothing. Failure. Lamenardo. Loser. Nerd. Dork. Everything is your fault. You can't do anything right.

I scream into my pillow, "I HATE MY STUPID WORTHLESS LIFE!"

After that I just drift off as I sob, drowning in my tears and snot.

When I open my eyes again, I find I am underwater. And that I am drowning.


	4. Candyland?

2: Mikey

Candyland?

Lollipops that can talk! Candy cane trees! S'more Mountains! I'm in candy heaven!

I eat and eat and eat. It's so delicious. Candyland is ginormous! The marshmallow plain is covered in smarties flowers. The chocolate path goes forever. I run down it, hoping to see a giant ice cream river. I wish Ice Cream Kittie were here. Then we could enjoy this together. Cookie leaves fall into my hands as I run. They are so good!

I find disappointment at the end of the path. The chocolate road turns to dirt and rocks that aren't Zots. I hear a howl in the distance. The sun is coming up over bluish green hills. There is a fork in the path. One path that has blackish red dirt leads to a place that looks like it's on fire. The black clock stands, stabbing the sky. It says it is seven on the dot. Down the other is a freaky swampy forest. It looks like it's from the Wizard of Oz. Both places look scary so I think I'll just go back into Candyland.

There's a hollow Thwam! as something slams into me from behind. I fall onto the fading chocolate road, hard.

Whoa! It's milk chocolate!

"MIKEY!" I hear as I'm jerked to my feet. I get turned around by rough hands. Behind me are Raph and Casey. Their footsteps lead up a fudge hill. They have wide eyes like they saw a ghost. They must have been running really hard.

"You guys are in Candyland, too. You are in my dream, too." I smile. Raph gets a confused look. Before he can say anything, Donnie and April fall out of the sky, landing on top of each other in front of Casey, screaming.

"WHOA!" I yell, "This is the coolest dream ever! I hardly ever see you guys in my dreams!"

Donnie groans and peels his face off of the ground. April slowly gets off him, gasping.

"Not… a dream…" Donnie gasps as April helps him to his feet.

"Excuse me," I say.

"I agree, Donnie," Raph says letting me go, "I think we're sharing some…dream or something."

I am so confused, "What?"

"Ugh, Mikey, look at us! Do we look like dreams?" Casey says.

"Um… yes."

Raph smack his forehead. Donnie ignores us and starts talking. "Guys, I think we're in some dream realm. Our minds must have converged somehow. That's why I woke next to April around a bunch of…well…flying Buffalo."

"Buffalo." Casey laughs. "Raph and I were in the same position only with hounds!"

"You guys sound like your restarting a conversation you started yesterday but didn't." I say.

"We know, Mikey," Raph growls," Maybe if Leo was here with you, you'd get it like we got it when we got here."

I'm still confused.

"Speaking of Leo, where is he?" April says. "He's the only one not here."

"Maybe he's elsewhere," I suggest. Raph scoffs.

"Or he's not part of this thing we're in. It's about time he's not part of something we're doing."

Aprils eyes harden,"Raph-"

CRASH!

We all whip around to the side of the road where the swamp forest begins and Candyland ends. Leo crashes through the water/milk, gasping for breath. He slaps his arms and palms down onto the bank, and clutches it like a lifeline.

"Speak of the devil," Casey whispers," And he shall appear."

"Figures," Raph growls.

"Leo!" April calls out to him. Leo looks over to us. He starts to climb out when suddenly pools of water turn black and rise like octopus tentacles. They shoot out and wrap around Leo's torso, upper arms, wrists, neck and mouth. With one jerk, Leo loses his grip on the bank and is taken under water.

He doesn't resurface.

"Leo," I whimper.

"SHELL!" Donnie and Raph scream. We sprint to the water's edge, ready to jump in.

We get stopped by two figures that fall from the sky, and dive into the water.

"What were those?" Casey howls.

Don pants, "I don't know, but let's hope their friendly and save Leo."

"We can't just stand here!" Raph growls.

Donnie pushes Raph away from the bank, "Wait! Just wait!"

We do wait. We wait for what seems like forever. Raph is antsy. Casey, Donnie and April all glance at each other. I stare at the water, waiting for either the tentacles to snatch us up or Leo to resurface.  
With a splash water sprays us. The two figures fly at us, dropping Leo at our feet.

He's …different. Wings are attached to his back, sprouting from underneath his shell. One wing is pure black with white spots. The other is pure white with blood red spots.

"What the shell?" Casey mumbles as Leo starts to cough.

Donnie ignores the wings and kneels by Leo, "Leo, Leo can you hear me? Are you okay? Talk to me, bro."

"M-my shoulders. Th-they hurt." He gasps.

"They will for a while," A young voice says from behind us. We all turn to him. Donnie lets Leo lean on him as they stand.

"Thank y-you," Leo groans. A boy with brown eyes and hair nods. He wears a black and white jacket and Khakis. He is pale. His eyes seem sunk into his head.

A girl stands next to him. She has black hair and lips. Her eyes are dark and have shadows circling them. Her skin is milky white. She wears a black yoga outfit. They are both our ages. The boy is Donnie's height while the girl is Raph's. Oh, one more thing. They have wings.

The girl's wings are snowy white with black spots. The boys are black with white spots.

I look at Leo is see his reaction. I gap. Leo looks like the kids. Pale, shadows under his eyes, wings, and his eyes are a gray-blue now.

"I am Felix." The boy says smiling, "and this is my friend, Kate." She smiles and nods at us.

"Thank you for saving Leo," April says.

"Our pleasure," Kate says, her voice smooth," We have to watch out for our own."

"Your own?" Raph questions.

"We will explain later," Felix says looking at the sun," You must follow us. Your brother has a place to be soon. And the swamp don't like people so we must run. Follow us."

Before Felix can take off, I call out, "Are you an angel?"

Felix smiles softly and looks back at me, "You will find out soon enough."


	5. Abandon

3: Donnie

Abandon

You know those movies where the trees at night look like killers and when lightning flashes on them, they look normal. Or they have scary faces. Well this entire wetland is that way!

One tree tried to grab Mikey and trap him in its trunk before I chopped the branch off. Another tried to strangle Raph but Leo's wings has some sort of spaze attack and slapped the tree silly. Mikey couldn't stop laughing after that.

As we're exiting the creepy swamp, my brothers and I wipe off our feet. Everything from glowing pebbles to gewy mud is trapped between our toes.

While we clean our appendages, Casey turns to the two angelic figures. "Okay, now can you answer our questions?"

Kate looks weary of Casey. Felix just shrugs him off. "That's not our job. Just keep following us and you'll learn what you need to."

Casey scowls, "And what if we don't?"

Felix shrugs," Then you don't."

"All we really need is the blue turtle, "Kate adds. Leo looks up at them, then back at his feet. Leo has been quiet since we got here. I wonder if something in this place has somehow affected him.

Raph seems to growl at the two," Well, if he's going, we're going with him."

Felix nods. He waits till we stop trying to wash our feet (which was unsuccessful) and we start to walk again.

Phmop-Tham!

Leo's wings fling outward. I jump before they could slam into me. Casey wasn't so lucky. Leo's white and red wing punches Casey square in the forearm. Leo hits him so hard, the puck head flew almost five feet from our position.

I laugh. It shoves its way out of my chest, through my throat and out my mouth. And now I can't stop.

"Sorry, Casey," Leo mumbles. His wings slump with his shoulders. Felix looks at Leo, chewing on his lip.

"I have an idea," Kate says. She starts walking to my big brother. Raph blocks her path. "Out of my way."  
"Make me." Raph snarls back.

Oh, she makes him alright. I laugh even harder as Kate breathes in his face and Raph falls flat on his back.

"I can't breathe. I can't breathe!" I howl.

Kate wanders over to Leo. She crosses her arms, smirking, "You want to fly?"

Leo seems to relax as she comes up to him. He nods. "Sort of."

Raph is scrambling back to his feet now. He looks dazed and confused. Casey walks to his side, holding his arm like it's going to fall off.

"Leo, ain't flying nowhere.' Raph says. I can tell he's trying to be straight forward and firm but his dazed look isn't helping.

Kate rolls her eyes. She whispers something to Leo. Then with one flap of her wings, she's only a dot in the sky.

Leo stares up at her, like he's in a trance. Then my ears explode with Raph's scream, "LEO, DON'T YOU-"

Dust and dirt fly as Leo shoots after Kate. Felix is not far behind.

"LEO, YOU ARE IN BIG TROUBLE WHEN YOU GET BACK DOWN HERE!" Raph screams at the top of his lungs in rage.

Mikey chuckles, "Since when we're you the over protective brother. "He says.

"I'm not." Raph snaps.

Mikey looks at me. He has this look that says Raph is being way too protective for his or Leo's own good.

I simply blink in response.

"Think they'll leave us?" Casey asks, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"No, Leo wouldn't do that to us." April replies.

Sure enough, April is right. We have walked down the path a little ways when they land in front of us. Leo looks like he's on the verge of tears, but he's happy. Happy tears.

"Leo, what's wrong?" Mikey asks. Leo shrugs.

"Nothin'."

Raph marches up to him angrily, "What did you think you were doing?"

Leo just smiles," I was being free."

I was being free. What does that mean?

"Hey, are we going to stand around all day or are we going?" Kate call up from ahead of us.

"We're coming, we're coming," Casey calls, then silently says to Raph, "She's about as impatient as you."

"Hah, hah. Funny," Raph snorts sarcastically.

Casey smiles, "I thought so."

We start walking again. Leo walks with Felix and Kate. He seems lighter. Like something was lifted off his shoulders.

"Um… Felix," April calls to the front, "Where exactly are we going?"

Felix looks back at us. He simply says, "Abandon."

"Abandon?" Casey questions, "What is that?"

"It's a town." Kate answers, "It's where people like us live."

Now Raph is getting ticked off, "Enough with 'people like us'. I want to know who you all are, what you are and why my brother has wings. Tell me! Now!"

"He's certainly demanding, isn't he?" Felix smiles. Leo shrugs. Kate scowls as she answers.

"It is not our place to tell you. Abandon is only a mile away. When we get there, we will meet Be 'Joke. He will tell what you want to know."

Raph frowns, "But-"

"Raph," Leo says, "Please." Leo has this look of something I can't describe. It's like a mixture of sadness and pleading. I don't think anyone could object to that face. And no one does.

Raph's angry face lightens a bit. He sighs, "Okay, Leo. I'll wait."  
Leo similes. "Thanks, bud."

I think Raph tried to hide it, but he smiles, too. Leo hasn't called Raph bud since we were really little. I think he liked it.

As we walk, I think about names. Leo always had a name for us. Bud for Raph, Baby Turtle for Mikey, and for me, well, he named me after a candy. Smartie. I liked that name. Because of Leo, I wanted to live up to the name. And I did. Like Mikey, the baby brother. Make sense? The Raph and Leo, I can't help but wonder why they are not buds anymore. I recall what Raph always called Leo. Hero. Leo Hero. All Raph wanted to be was like Leo when he got older. After that I don't know what happened. They just became…different.

"Hey, Donnie," Casey whispers to me as we go over a hill. A town comes into view. From here it looks like a spook town but I could be wrong.

"What," I growl. If Casey hadn't said a word to me this whole trip I would have been really happy.

"Why did Leo call Raph Bud? It's not something I can hear coming out of either of their mouths."

"Why don't you just ask Raph?"

"Because I don't want him to pound me."

Figure. "Look, it's just what Leo called him when we were young. Now drop it."

Casey frowns but says nothing more.

As we draw closer to the town, I see that the town is completely made of wood and black iron. This town must get really hot during the day. There's a fountain in the middle of the town, clear as can be. A few people walk the streets. Some are mainly flying around. All their wings are spotted. There is no just one color.

As we enter the town, Kate raises her hands to the sky and says, "Welcome to Abandon!"

"Whoa," Mikey says.

"It's a big, goth city. " Casey says. Felix shoots him a look.

"Amazing," Leo mutters. He flaps his wings. The next thing we know he is standing over the fountain looking down at himself. We go after him. Once we're to him, we see him stretching his wings, looking at them like they are a second head.

"We're off," Kate calls to us, "See you later, Leonardo."

Leo waves to her as she and Felix leave. "Such nice people." He says.

Raph snorts, "Whatever."

Mikey nudges my arm, "Donnie, the Joker is here." I look where Mikey is looking. Joker my shell-

HOLY! He's right. A dude that looks like a mixture of Beetle Juice and the Joker is coming toward us.

"Uh, guys, "I say. They all look toward the man. He stops feet from the fountain.

"So another one whisked himself away." He says. He's looking at Leo. Leo seems to shrink back.

"You Be 'Joke?" Raph says.

"In the flesh," the man says. "Don't tell me. You want answers. And don't we all. Well, follow me and I'll give you some."

"Ugh, more walking, "Mikey groans. I elbow him. He shuts up.

Leo and Raph are at the front on Be 'Joke's heels. The rest of us trail behind, still in listening range.

"You six have fallen into the dream realm. It always happens to those who wish themselves away," He motions to Leo, "or to those who break through their dreams like the rest of you."

"What do you mean wish yourself away?" Leo asks.

Be 'Joke looks sadly at our big brother, "Son… what do you think your wings stand for?"

Leo looks at his wings," Um… I don't know."

Be 'Joke sighs, "No, I would suspect you wouldn't. Look around you. All these people have spot on their wings. Those spots mean something. Do you know why this town is called Abandon?"

"No, we don't," Raph snaps.

"Raph," Leo hisses.

"Abandon is named for the pain these souls have gone through. It's a refuge. Felix and Kate showed a few years ago. The black dots on Kate's wings stand for her parent's drug abuse. The neglect they showed her. "

I get it. This city is for those who are degraded. But how is Leo part of this? I am scared to know.

"You and Felix have something in common, boy," Be 'Joke continues.

"Leonardo." Leo cuts in.

"Both of your white dotted wings stand for self-harm."

Leo seems to pale even more. I see his wrists twitch.

"S-self-harm." Leo chokes.

"Leo, what does he mean," Raph asks. Uh-oh. This isn't good. We all tense up. Raph's voice has an edge to it. "Leo, you don't self-harm, do you?"

Leo pales even more. "R-Raph, just keep an open mind-"

Raph lunges at Leo. They are on the ground before anyone can move.

"Go for the wrists!" Mikey shouts.

"MIKEY!" I howl, slapping him.

April screams, "RAPH, LET HIM BE!"

Raph yanks Leo's armbands off in anger. Leo tries to push Raph off him but the second eldest has Leo pinned tightly to the ground.

Then Raph chokes. He jumps away from Leo so fast I don't see him pass me to go to Casey. Once he stops, he keeps his back turned to Leo. Leo stands up rubbing his wrists.

"You CUT!" Raph yells. "WHY? ANSWER ME THAT!"

Leo opens his mouth but Be 'Joke beat him to it, "Allow me, Leonardo. Your other wing is white with blood red. That stands for parental abuse."

"Leo can't be abused!" Raph howls as he turns to Be 'Joke.

The man sighs, "There always doubters."

My eyes widen as Be 'Joke swings his arm like he's about to hit Leo, but stops inches away. Leo flinches back and ends up falling on his butt. He curls into a ball, shaking.

April moves to my big brother. As she kneels by him and rubs his shell, Raph yells, "April, did you know about this?!"

April slowly looks up," Yes, I did."

"For how long, "I find myself asking. I can't tell what I'm feeling. Horror? Anger? Fear?

"Only a day," April says. She rubs Leo's arm. Leo doesn't uncurl.

"Well," Be 'Joke says," as much as I want to dwindle in you families problems, I don't. We have more to talk about before Old Jack chimes eight."

"Old Jack?" Casey asks.

"The clock," Be 'Joke summarizes. He helps Leo to his feet. Leo's face reads that he is ashamed. Then with a burst of anger, Leo rips off his other wristband.

Now I see what Raph saw. Deep bright scars line his wrists. There's letters there, too. One wrist has an R, A and a C. The other has an M, D, I C K together and an S. Those letters stand out among the scars.

Once he throws the band down, Leo marches off, Be 'Joke right beside him. We walk or rather jog to keep up with them.

I look at this city. So this is Abandon. A city for the abused. And Leo is a part of it.

I don't think I like Abandon at all.


	6. Caius's Dream

I can totally get Leo's dilemma. Maybe it's because I'm afraid of rats, and an abusive Splinter makes sense. It's the cutting thing that I don't get. I'm not going to try to figure it out though.

Be 'Joke leads us to a iron, old fashioned looking restaurant. We go in and gap. Wood round tables are scattered throughout the room. On the right side is a counter with seats under it. On the wall behind a pale, black haired bartender is a glowing red sign that says: THINK YOU CAN BEAT SUIDES AT THE GAME OF LIFE AND DEATH? THINK AGAIN.

"What is this place?" Donnie asks. Mikey jumps as a guy slams into the wall feet from him. The guy gets up, flaps his ginormous wings and zooms across the room.

Be 'Joke laughs at our faces. "This is Caius's Dream. The best restaurant/pub in the country. At least for suides anyway."

We all sit on a stool, while the bartender shuffles around.

"So what else do we need to know?" I ask while Raph rubs his forehead. He's still mad at Leo. No surprise there.

"I'll tell ya'," Be 'Joke says, "after Leonardo here gets a drink. Caius! Get this boy some of your best Ever Away."

"New boy, Be' Joke?" The bartender who must be Caius asks.

"Indeed. And his family just discovered he's a suide!"

"Oh, rough day! Rough day!" Caius howls.

Mikey turns to Leo, "Leo," he starts, "this is just a dream, right? Sensei doesn't really beat you, does he? Those cuts aren't real, are they?"

Leo sadly turns to Mikey. We all turn to him. Raph just groans and glares hatefully at Leo. Leo sighs. "Mikey… this isn't a dream. It's another dimension, like dimension X. Only we can get here through our dreams. And whatever happens in real life," Leo looks down at his wrist, at a bright scar that looks recently added," must be here too. Yes, I cut. And I don't have to explain why I do. You can't make me."

"Fine," Raph snaps, "I will get it out of you. But first, I don't believe Sensei hurts you. I can't. You're the perfect son! Why would he hurt you?"

Leo narrows his eyes, "You want proof, Raph? Here's some." Leo takes off his bandanna. A big black and blue eye meets us. I suck in a breath. Raph looks like he's going to fall off his stool. April goes around Mikey and cups Leo's face in her hands.

"He did this because he knows I know, didn't he?" She says. Leo looks down avoiding all our gazes.

"It's not your fault." He mumbles.

Raph lays his head on the counter, groaning." Casey," he says," I don't feel good anymore." I have no idea what to say to that, so I just pat Raph's shell.

"Two Ever Away's," Caius calls, coming to us. He puts two small glasses in front of Leo and Be' Joke.

"Don't mind if I do," Be 'Joke says and takes a big gulp of his drink. Ig's gone after one swallow.

Leo swirls the orangish drink around, then swallows it. His eyes grow big and he starts tilting to one side.

"Another?" Caius asks his white with brown spotted wings ruffle. Leo nods.

"Oh, yes, please."

"Uh, Leo," Donnie says, "I don't think you should drink more of that."

Leo doesn't listen. He just gulps down his second drink. Then his third, fourth, fifth. We don't stop him. Mainly cause Be' Joke won't let us. Finally, he's stopped on the sixth.

"Alright, Leonardo, better give it a break for a second. "Be' Joke says. "Old Jack gon' start chimen'."

"Why?' Leo asks, pushing his cup away.

Suddenly the whole of Caius's Dream starts counting down, "Three…two…one…"

They all scream! Mikey jumps back as Leo screams loudest. They hit the tables, writhing in pain. Some almost fall out of their seats, like Leo. With the screams, we hear a clock chime eight.

Cuts, bruises and black eyes pass before us as Leo screams, acting like he's being beaten. The smell of blood wafers up to my nose. Be' Joke is bleeding from cuts around his mouth. Leo's blood floods the counter as his wrists and neck bleed. All we can do is sit and watch in horror.

This lasts for another two minutes. Then everyone stops moving. There is no sound. Blood evaporates into the air.

"Um… Leo?" Mikey says poking Leo's bruised shoulder. Don and Raph crowd over Leo trying to get a response. Raph shakes him, "Leo, come on, man. Wake up. Come on, Leo. Wake up, bro."

Slowly groans rise in the room. Leo is one of the last to wake up. "What the shell just happened?" He moans.

Be' Joke swallows hard, "It is our one curse here. Every time that clock chimes eight in the morning, we got to feel every pain we've ever felt. It reminds us whey we're here."

"Oh." Leo groans. He tries to sit up but his stomach must have a cramp or something cause he hunches over.

Then everyone calls out a name of a drink as Caius gets up. Ever Away. Pure Life. Self-heal. All these drinks are given out at random. Once Caius is done he gets a drink of Do Stop for himself. Two glasses of Ever Away for Leo and Be' Joke also.

Raph, Mike and Don can't help but crowd Leo. Don eases him up from his cramps. Mikey massages his neck and Raph observes Leo's new black eyes and bruises.

"Guys…" Leo says trying to get away," guys, can I have a little space, please."

When they don't move, and after April tries to tug Mikey away, Leo yells," I WILL CUT MY WRISTS TO SHREDS IF YOU DON'T BACK OFF!"

That gets them moving. Mikey sits back down, and Donnie pats Leo's back before sitting down himself. Raph doesn't move. The two glare at each other. Raph yanks Leo's wrist to him. He stares at it, and then looks back at Leonardo's bitter face.

"You put letters on your wrists like they are paper. You cut to be a pain, don't you?"

"I cut, "Leo hisses, "to prove to myself that I am a person and not a worthless piece of trash."

"We could have told you that. " Raph retorts, "And if you would have told us what Sensei does to you, we could have kept you safe."

"No, you couldn't, and why do you of all people care what I do to myself. I could draw our whole family on my wrists and you wouldn't care."

Fire burns in Raph's eyes and it looks like he's gonna slap Leo so hard that I would feel it. Instead, he squeezes Leo's wrist.

"I. Do. Care," he spits, " You're the one who doesn't care. You wouldn't cut if you did."

"I DO CARE! I CUT BECAUSE I CARE! I STAND THE ABUSE BECAUSE I CARE!"

"SUICIDE ISN'T HOW YOU SHOW CARE, LEO!"

Donnie is back on his feet now… and he is mad!

"LEO! RAPH! ENOUGH! SIT DOWN! WE CAN BICKER AT HOME! NOW SIT YOUR SHELLS DOWN AND SHUT UP!" And to make his point, Donnie grabs Raph, yanks him so he's facing me and kicks him in the butt. I have to jump off my seat in order to catch my red-clad friend.

He whips back around. Leo is lifting the Ever Away to his lips. Raph yells," Leo, don't you dare drink that! Leo, don't-Leo! LEO!"

Leo takes a big gulp of it, but before he swallows, he swishes it around like its Listerine, then gulps it down. Raph shakes in anger. I pat his back.

"Calm down, dude. Sit down." I say.

Raph does eventually sit down, but refuses to calm down.

Everyone in Caius's Dream ignores us. It's as if a fight in here is normal. Maybe it is. Be' Joke and Caius just stare at us.

Finally, Caius says, "Well, you two certainly despise each other. What are your names? Your full names?"

Leo rubs his head, "I'm Hamato Leonardo. The hot-head down there is Hamato Raphael."

"S'up," Raph grunts.

Be' Joke stops drinking the Ever Away and Caius pauses. "Wait… did you say… Hamato?"

With that word everyone stops and looks at us. Our group shuffles uncomfortably in their seats except Mikey who smiles at the crowd.

"Yeah," Leo answers quietly, "Why?"

Caius looks at Be' Joke. Be' Joke glances at him. The bartender turns away from us saying, "No reason."

Funny, I think. When I glance at April and Donnie, I see that Donnie has a contemplating face on. He's thinking the same thing I am.

Be' Joke stands, "We better be going. I have a few more things to discuss with all of you."


	7. A New Allie

"When you six came here you all landed in one spot so you could be together by just going down your own paths. What you don't know is that two others entered this realm the same time you six did." Be 'Joke says.

We are walking through the middle of Abandon. Stores of different sorts pass us. Our guide is more jumpy now. He's in a hurry.

"Two?" I say, "Who else is here?"

"I don't know. All I know is ones across the realm coming this way, and one's here already."

"Is that where you're taking us?" Donnie asks, "To see this person."

Be 'Joke nods, "Yes. After this you must go find the other soul. Then you must all go to your anchor-"

"Anchor? What anchor?" Casey asks. I think we're all asking that question in our heads.

Be' Joke twists around so fast it scares Leo, who runs into Michelangelo that stumbles into Donnie who catches him before he falls. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHAT ANCHOR?!"

Raph meets Be' Jokes anger, "That's exactly what we mean! What anchor? You need to be more specific."

Be 'Joke Smacks his hand against his forehead, "Your anchor! It's what links you to your world. You just touch it and you sent home! Without it you're stuck here! You're telling me it's not with you!"

"Uh…no." Casey answers for us.

Be 'Joke groans, "Okay. Let's hope the other guy who came here made one. Come on. Keep walking."

We walk in silence for a while after that. I walk by Casey and Donnie. I feel so small compared to how tall they are. Raph is one the other side of Casey, glaring at the back of Leo's head. Leo walks ahead, Mikey on his heels.

One anchor for eight people. That anchor is going to be something we agree on. We all agree on. Depending on who these other two people are, we might never figure out what we have in common. Yelling brings me back to reality.

"Be' Joke! Hey, man! See you got a newbie! He want something to eat?" A brown haired man says from up ahead.

"Hey, Jasper. Maybe we'll eat some other time but right now we need to find the guy who dropped in here earlier."

Jasper has the looks of a nineteen year old but the smile of a five year old, "He's in back. You won't miss him…er…can't."

"Thanks, Jasper," Be' Joke says and continues walking. We follow.

"Is this an outside restaurant?" Casey asks aweing at the cook who's flipping what looks like chicken in front of the customers.

"Yes, in fact." Be' Joke replies.

"What do you do if it rains?" Donnie asks.

"We stay out here. We love the rain. Don't matter to us what happens to our food."

"Another point made," Leo says turning to us, "I love the rain."

I hear Raph growl. Casey slams his elbow into Raphs shoulder and the turtle becomes quiet.

We weave through tables and suides as with wings flapping with excitement. Finally we got to the table, but all we can see of the guy is his black boots and the giant black and sandy colored menu.

"Okay, here are the other fallers. Now all you have to do is find the eighth person and the anchor," Be 'Joke says. The man lowers the menu.

We literally jump back. The man's feet slip from the iron table. The table falls over with a clang as he stands up swiftly.

Raph points at him. Shredder points back and they both yell, "I AM NOT WORKING WITH HIM/THEM!"

"He tried to kill us!" Raph howls while Shredder says," They're the sons and disciples of my enemy!"

"HUSH!" Be 'Joke yells. Raph growls lowly at Shredder while Shredder glares at us. My heart is pounding so hard. Be 'Joke takes a deep breath. "Okay. I can see your enemy's. Great. Be enemy's back home. Here you are allies."

Raph starts to say," But-"

"SHIZUKA!" Be 'Joke howls in Japanese. Raph shuts up. "Now, hear me. It is obvious you seven lost your anchor. And you have someone to find so listen closely. You all have four days here till your anchor expires and you are lost to the ever changing dream world. That means twenty-four hours in your world. During these four days, you must find the eighth person, and then your anchor. And when you find it, you leave this realm before the Nightmare King finds you here."

"The Nightmare King," Mikey squeaks, and edge of fear in his voice. "Like the Boogeyman?"

Be' Joke looks sadly at Mike, "Oh, I wish, son. The Boogeyman is only one of his Hench men."

Mikey shrinks like he's going to curl into himself. Leo walks to him, and puts a comforting arm around his baby brother. His red and white wing moves with him, making double the protection," This Nightmare King ain't going to get us, Mikey. We'll be gone before he knows we were ever here. And if he gets us, I'll take him down."

"Promise, Leo," Mikey asks, snuggling into the elder.

Leo looks at Shredder. I think he glares at him because Shredder glowers down at Leo. "I promise," Leo whispers. He then walks halfway to Shredder, "And I am willing to work with you till we get home."

Shredder finishes the gap. Now their nose to nose. Or rather nose to Sternum. Leo is so short compared to Shredder that the armored man could just fall and Leo would be crushed.

Shredder looks down on Leo and I can't help but wonder what's rolling through his head. "You're wise for your age, turtle. All suides are. But you're making a big mistake."

"You don't touch any of them," Leo replies nodding his head toward us," And I think we've got us a deal."

Shredder looks back at us, eyeing us till he decides what he wants to do. I hope Leo knows there's a twist to this deal.

We all watch as Shredder backs up and sticks out his hand," This deal lasts for four days, boy. No longer than that."

Leo hesitates, "And what do you want?"

Shredder doesn't move, "Only a clear passage back to New York."

Leo hesitates once more, and then grabs Shredders out stretched hand. They both say, "Deal."

Be' Joke claps his hands, "Okay. Now that that's settled, let's get this show on the road. I'll take you seven to the edge of the city, and then you're on your own."

"Why can't you come? " Raph growls. We can all see that he's struggling to keep his temper down. I don't blame him. I don't think anyone is happy with this arrangement.

Be 'Joke starts leaving the courtyard, "Because this is not my mission."

"Bull it's not your mission," Raph mumbles under his breath. That earns a scowl from Be 'Joke.

Abandon from the distance looks so small. Like a Ghost town in the old west. Really, Abandon is as big as Brooklyn and Queens combined. It doesn't seem to get hot here. Even if the city is made of pure metal.

As we walk, I notice Be 'Joke doesn't have wings. He is a suide, isn't he?

"Be 'Joke, "I call out to him, "You are a suide, right? So… where are your wings?"

Our guide looks back at me as he walks," I got them cut off by the Nightmare King."

My blood goes cold. I see Mikey speed up so he's walking with Leo instead of with us. I swallow hard,"Oh."

We continue walking for a long while. Casey and Raph whisper to each other. Don fidgets with his fingers. I just watch my friends and Shredder. Leo and Shredder glare a t each other. Mike grips Leo's arm till his knuckles turn white.

Slowly the big city buildings turn into houses. A sign comes closer as we begin to exit the town. I points down the path saying 25 miles to Three Crossing.

"Alright," Be' Joke says, turning to face us. We stop. "This is where we part. Up the road a few miles beware the-"

Our guide is cut off by the sound of neighing. Coming toward us is a big black horse. It has no eyes, just pitch black sockets. Its rider has black iron armor on. His face is pure white with red hair splashed with black. He has an evil grin on as he approaches.

"Oh no," I barley hear Be' Joke mumble," Aro."

"Who?" Mikey asks but doesn't get an answer.

The rider comes up, "Hello, Be' Joke. Still showing newbies around?"

"What do you want, Aro?"

"Just making my nine o'clock rounds. You know how you suides get. We don't need an uprising from you now do we?"

The man looks over us. He eyes me for an extra second then continues on till he sees Raph. His gaze flickers from Raph to Leo and back again. He now looks antsy.

"And these… seven…" the man says, "you are taking them to their anchor?"

"Yes," Be' Joke answers. Aro's lips twitch.

"Good. Our lord takes no kindness to…outsiders."

"That goon ain't gonna touch us," Mikey snaps. My friend flinches as Aro glares angrily at him.

"Be careful what you say, little boy," Aro's horse rears up and kicks its front legs at Mikey. Mike yelps and jumps back.

The horse lands with a thud and Aro bursts out laughing. "Oh, what a pathetic little turtle! OH!"

"Call Mikey pathetic one more time," Raph snaps, moving forward.

"I dare you." Leo adds on.

Aro scoffs, "Pa-the-tic-"

We all fall back as Leo's wings flare out, big and menacing. I can only imagine what he looks like from the front. And he must look scary cause the horse rears up in fear this time. Raph jumps over Leo and kicks Aro off the horse. He back flips and lands underneath Leo's hovering form. Aro lands on the ground with a thump. The horse attempts to run but Leo's wings flap, scaring it so it is petrified.

Casey, Donnie, Mike and I run up to stand by Raph. Him and Leo are laughing and high fiving each other.

"Oh, you got told!" Mikey smiles, "Nobody calls me pathetic!"

Aro coughs up dust and glares at Leo and Raph. He looks back at Be' Joke. "You and your little army may have won this round, Be' Joke, but your town won't be safe forever. Till tomarrow."

Aro hisses at us as he climbs back on to his horse. He glares at Leo and Raph (again) and rides off.

"Well…" Donnie says, "that was… interesting."

"Who exactly was that?" Casey asks.

"None of our concern," Shredder intervenes. He turns to Be' Joke while me and Donnie hold Casey back from hitting Shredder between the shoulder blades. "Do you have the location of our eighth person?"

Be' Joke stares after Aro, answering shakily, "No. It is up to you to find them. I give you good luck. You're going to need it."

"Thank you, Be' Joke," Leo says. "You've been a good friend. I hope to maybe see you again someday."

Be' Joke nods. Shredder and Leo start down the path. Mikey and Raph follow, whispering to their big brother. It looks like Raph put Leos' secrets behind him for now.

Casey and I start after them. Then I notice one shadow isn't cast over me.

Donnie.

I turn back around to see Be' Joke whispering to Donnie. He shoves something brown in my friend's hand. Donnie looks at it then back at Be' Joke. Our guide pokes his chest then leaves Donnie standing their looking confused.

"Donnie," I call to him.

Donatello snaps out of his trance. He looks at me then quickly shoves the brown bag in his belt. "Coming."

When he catches up to me and we start walking, I ask, "What did he want?"

"Nothing," Don mumbles. Not snarky-like but in a nervous way. I won't bug him till he's ready to tell me himself. Whatever Be' Joke wants, he wants Donnie to fulfill it. I have a feeling I'll know what it is sooner than later.


	8. Alec

6: Leo

Alec

We walk for what seems like forever. I occasionally fly up to see how far we are form Three Crossing. It seems to get farther away every time I look.

I think Raph hates me. I can feel the hate radiating from him, his glower burning into my skull. I didn't my family to know what happens to me. To know what I do to myself. But clearly I'm even a failure at that.

Shredder and I share the leading position. One minute Shredder is leading us down a gully, the next I'm leading us out of it.

Over the gully, a forest comes into view. It is made of weeping willows.

"Pretty," April murmurs.

Shredder doesn't give it a second thought," Move."

Now he's leading. We follow silently.

The forest is pretty. The sun is blocked out by the canopy. Only splotches of light make it through. Flowers are along the path. As we get deeper in, water appears on both sides of the path.

"Um, guys," Casey starts," back in Abandon, before Aro showed up, Be'Joke was saying something. A warning. Do you think he was warning us about this forest?"

"Look," Donnie says, mockingly," Casey is being a chicken."

"No, I'm not," Casey growls.

"Nothing's happened to us yet, guys," I say. "We're half way through. Keep walking and we'll be fine."

As I say that I walk just two steps when I hear something, someone, calling my name.

Leonardo. Leonardo.

I don't know that voice but it sounds so welcoming. I find myself kneeling by the water, looking down into it. I think one of my brothers is talking to me but I can't tell. I can't hear anything except that voice.

Leonardo. Follow me. Come to me. Leonardo. Be free.

I can't help it. I find myself slipping beneath the water.

It's numbing cold! I go numb the moment I slip under. My breath is gone instantly but the voice urges me to keep going.

The water is beautifully clear. On the surface it was dark and reflecting. Under it, you can see weird glowing fish swim by, flashing. It confuses me for a second, and then I swim deeper under.

The bottom is scarred with tree branches and vines. The vines reach toward me like they're going to trap me.

And that's exactly what happens.

The vines are wrapping around my wrists. A black needle-like thing sticks into both of my palms. There is only a sting of pain and it's over.

Dirt moves as a horse head appears, looking me in the eye. Then the body emerges. It's the thing calling to me.

Hold tight. Hold tight.

It feels like a needle is traveling up my veins. As I look at them, they slowly turn black. Then I realize what this is.

I have fallen into a trap. A suide trap at that.

My air is gone, everything is going black and I can't breathe. Everything's so cold. I can't believe I'm so stupid as to follow a horse that feeds off of a suide. I can't believe I'm gonna die down here.

The needle in my veins reaches my forearms, spider webbing in my wrists as I back out.

Then… I scream!

My voice blows out and my lungs ache because I scream so hard. I don't open my eyes. Someone has save me but I don't want to look at their face.

My head hits something hard. I shiver like no other in this persons arms. I try to think of whom it is that saved me. April? Donnie? Casey?

"Shell, you're cold,Leo."

Raph!

"Donnie, his hands are bleeding like crazy. That thing stuck something in him. It was pretty far up in to him, too."

Someone, whom I assume is Donnie, grabs my hands. He is wrapping something around them. I think it might be his wristbands.

Raph rubs my arm as I groan," You shell brain," Raph growls," when a monster talks to you, don't respond."

"That's right,Raph," Donnie whispers," Keep him warm."

"Is he okay?" April asks.

"He'll be fine," Don replies," But his hands won't heal for a while."

Suddenly, water sprays us and a booming voice calls out," You dare take away Alec's dinner!"

Raph has a growl rumbling in his throat. Mikey yells at the person," Leo isn't your dinner!"

I open my eyes. Raph has his eyes trained on the person who's talking. I follow his gaze.

The horse I saw stands, rather floats, feet away from us. It is shimmering blue with blood red eyes. "Oh, he's my dinner all right. Quite a delicious one at that."

Raph screams at the Alec and throws a big rock at him. The horse neighs? No growls? I don't know but it is charging straight at us.

But then Shredder gets in its way.

"Look you demanding, pig sucking horse, we're on a mission, and if you don't move, my claws are going through your head." Pig sucking?

The horse glares at Shredder, then looks at me," Not until I get my meal."

"Touch my brother and you'll regret ever living," Raph spits.

The horse jerks in surprise," I got myself a angry group I do. And they're not even suides."

"Yeah, we're angry," Mikey says in a smart-alecky way," because we're Hamato's."

Alec freezes up. The horse looks sick.

"Hama…Hama…"

He pukes up my blood everywhere. Shredder ends up falling on his butt so he doesn't get any on him.

"What is so bad about our family name?" Donnie says, confused as the rest of us.

"Other than Splinter abusing Leo?" Raph points out.

"Well… yeah, other than that."

"I DRANK FROM A HAMATO!" Alec howls. He lets out a shriek and slinks as fast as he can back into the water, my blood trailing him as he goes.

Once he's gone, it's quiet. I break it by saying, "Um… Don…Raph…I think I'm going to be sick."

The world spins as Raph makes me look at him. Don groans," Oh, shell."

"Uh, guys," Casey calls to us. We look over to him, then follow his gaze.

A black-brown haired boy dressed in a white kimono and black obi stares at us.

He calls out," Are you really the Hamato's?"


	9. The Healer

7: Shredder

The Healer

*Haha means mother

*Dōitashimashite means your welcome

The Turtles decided to trust the boy. The only reason they did was because their brother turned as sick as a dog. He was rendered unconscious as we began to move again. Raphael refuses to let his brother go. He is carrying him clear to a cottage on the side of the path.

The boy says his name is Chainin. He says his mother will take care of Leonardo. His mother is a healer.

The group is anxious. Donatello and April O'Neil whisper and look back to check on the fallen turtle. The younger walks silently. The black haired boy walks alongside Raphael, repeatedly asking to take Leonardo. The red-clad turtle merely glares and continues walking.

The cottage is small, make of stone. An amazing structure for something so small. It is surrounded by trees. A young woman stands surrounded by bushes. Flowers bloom. Cherry blossoms in fact. Her kimono is a silky white with a black obi. Her hair is in a bun, clipped together by one red needle and one blue needle.

"Haha, Haha," young Chainin calls, running to the woman," Another Suide fell in. And guess what? He's a Hamato!"

The woman stands straight. With a thump, I find myself falling on my back. My heart feels like it is torn from my chest. The black haired boy, Casey Jones, I think is his name, stands over me. He picks me up while I hear April say," Is that… Tang Shen?"

I watch as the exact replica of Tang Shen walks to Raphael.

This cannot be the woman I once loved. It can't be!

She puts her hand on Leonardo's forehead, and then looks at Raphael. "Your brother was injected with an enormous amount of poison. He is very ill. Come. I must eject the poison. Immediately."

The woman leads us in. Casey follows behind me in case I fall. I can feel his glower.

Inside, I stare at her, trying to decipher if she's an illusion or not. Leonardo is laid on a table. He is paler than a normal Suide, and barley breathes. I sit back in a wood chair.

"Ma'am," Michelangelo says," What was that horse thing that tried to eat my brother?"

"A Shimera," doppelgänger Tang Shen says," Shimera's feed on the Suides death force."

"Death Force?" April asks.

"Yes. The Death Force is the Suides will to die. I can feel your brother's is strong. He's almost a shattered soul. The Shimera knew this."

Leonardo's friends glance at each other. Tang Shen lifts Leonardo's arm," I will extract the poison. This will be painful."

Raphael scoffs as he grabs his brothers hand," Right. I guess I'll be his hand holder for his pain."

With that, Tang Shen lifts a white tube and pressed it to Leonardo's open wound after removing the bandages. Leonardo groans, and then starts kicking. His face shines with sweat.

"It hurtin' yet, Raph," Casey calls to him.

"No," Raphael replies," his grip isn't that tight at-"

"AAAAHHHH!" the two brothers start screaming. Raphael crumbles next to Leonardo, eyes wide.

"RAPH!" Leonardo howls while Raphael screams, "MAKE HIM LET GO!"

"RAPH! RAPH! MAKE IT STOP!"

"We just need to breathe, Leo. We need to BREATHE!"

After two minutes of screaming, the poison exits Leonardo's body. His veins turn back to normal from being black. The white tube turns a greenish black with the venom. The boy relaxes.

"There," Tang Shen breathes," Done. Your brother will be fine."

The Turtles take a deep breath. "Mikey," Raphael says," next time… you're holding Leo's hand."

"Thank you, Ma'am, for healing our brother. How could we repay you?" Donatello says.

"No payment required, darling," Tang Shen smiles," But I do wish to know your names."

Michelangelo smiles," I'm Michelangelo. That's Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo. We're the Hamato brothers!"

Tang Shen looks at Raphael and Leonardo, whispering their names.

Michelangelo continues, "Over there is April, Casey, and –"

"Oroku Saki." I intervene.

Tang Shen nods," Tang Shen."

I knew it.

Once Leonardo is sitting up, Chainin comes to his side. "Sir, what does those cuts on your wrists and arms mean? The letters?"

Leonardo looks at the letters, then holds out a wrist," This stands for Mikey… Donnie…Ice Cream Kittie… Spike…" He points to each letter as he goes. He looks at me then back down as if looking for my reaction.

"Ice Cream Kittie," Michelangelo whispers.

"Spike," Raphael says, eyes lingering on the S.

Leonardo moves to the next wrist," And these stand for April…Casey…and Raph."

"Whoa," Chainin mutters, feeling the scars. Raphael grabs a wrist again, feels the R, then shoves it away from himself.

"I don't want to be a part of your wrist," he growls.

"I never asked you to be," Leonardo hisses under his breath.

"If you seven are going to Three Crossing, you better get some sleep. No one can tell how busy it will be." Shen says.

"That where we're going, Donnie," Leonardo asks. Donatello nods." Okay, I guess we'll stay here for a couple of hours than. Thank you for your generosity." Leonardo says to Shen.

"Dōitashimashite," Tang Shen replies, then grabs Chainin to leave to room. I watch her as she leaves.

"Are we really gonna stay here," Raphael growls.

"Yes, Raph," Leonardo growls back," Now I suggest you get comfortable. As Tang Shen said, Three Crossing is a hectic place."

"She never said hectic," Raphael argues.

By now, I decide I'm over the Turtles. Let them deal with each other.

For the record, I knew one of those Turtles would turn out to be suicidal. Yoshi had to raise one of them to be.

As I doze off, I see visions of my brother. My big brother who was a lot like Raphael.

His name was Oroku Nagi.


	10. Blood Suckers of the Dream Realm

8: Mikey

Blood Suckers of the Dream Realm

"Mikey… Mikey, wake up. Shredder's leaving us."

I groan as Donnie shakes me awake. I was almost home. I was home till Donnie said Shredder.

My cheek sticks to my arm as I left my head. My arms hurt as I pull them off the chair, leaving grooves in my arms. My legs ache as I try to stand. Falling asleep on a chair backwards is not comfortable. But I wouldn't want to be Leo and Raph. They argued for a full hour before Donnie screamed at them and make them share the table.

Don gets me to my feet and follows me out of the house. "Thank you again, Ma'am, for your hospitality." Don says. Again. Leo must have thanked her, too. Tang Shen stands in the door way.

"Do itashimashta. It's a pleasure to help the Hamato brothers."

Don and Tang Shen bow to each other, and then we leave. I look to the south, where the sun lies. Sunset. Day one of Mission Live Dream is almost over.

"Donnie, what time do you think it is?" I ask.

Don sighs, staring at the bright sun, "To be honest, Mikey, I couldn't tell you for the world."

The others walk ahead of us, not slowing down. We jog to catch up with them. I am surprised to see Raph and Leo walking on either side of Shredder. It's like they'd rather stand next to our greatest enemy than each other.

"Donnie, how many miles have we walked since we left Abandon?" Leo asks.

"Uh…" Donnie calculates for a moment," maybe… three to four miles." Everyone groans," but as long as we walk through the night, we should be to Three Crossing by morning."

"Great," Leo says some-what optimistically, "let's keep walking the…then…"

Leo trails off. He starts sniffing the air like he smells something good. I do the same but don't smell anything.

Shredder gives Leo a weird look as he sniffs him. Leo ignores it and pushes Shredder out of the way.

"Leo, what are you doing?" Raph asks, uncomfortably as Leo sniffs the air inches from Raph.

"Raph," Leo says, almost like he's in a trance," You… you smell…"

By this time, Raph is looking at Leo in a fearful way," Leo, quit looking at me that way."

"What way?"

"LIKE YOU'RE GONNA EAT ME!"

"There you are!" A voice from above cries out. We look up to see Kate and Felix coming down from the sky. They circle twice then land in front of Leo and Raph.

"Oh, good," Raph gasps," you're Leo's friends. Get him to stop sniffing me and looking like he wants to eat me for dinner."

"Oh, yes," Felix grumbles, putting a hand on his hip, then rubs his chin with the other," We were worried about that."

"What?!" Raph says. I snicker. He's failing miserably at hiding his panic. "What were you worried about? Should we be worried?"

Kate puts her arm around Leo, turning him away from Raph," Only if your brothers still here when the sun is completely gone."

We all instinctly look at the sun. It is halfway down behind the plains.

"What'll happen if Leo is still here when the sun sets?" I ask.

"Then you will all die." Felix simply says as if it's normal to say that. We all look at him in horror. Even Leo.

"Felix," Kate hisses," Look, Leonardo is a newbie-"

"I hate that word," Leo growls.

Kate continues," Yes, I did, too. But Suides have two 'curses.' The eight a.m. one and this one. All night long, Suides become much like a vampire, but no completely. And, actually, we don't really hate it."

"Huh?" We all ask at once.

Felix chuckles, "this is how we see it. Vampires are in technical terms dead, right. No heartbeat. Suides have a heartbeat. At least, during the day. At night our heartbeat stops, our blood goes cold and we drink blood. It helps us get along with the vampires here. It lets us feel, even though we're dead, alive. At least for a night."

"Wait," Donnie says, squeezing his temples gently," So you all turn into vampires at night, but you're not actual vampires. And there are real vampires other than you guys."

Felix nods," Yep."

Donnie squints," Okay…"

"That would answer why no one stays in Abandon overnight." Shredder says as if he has been to this place before.

I look to my big brother. Felix and Kate's eyes are red already, and Leo's eyes are slowly turning red, too. The two humans look at the sun, and then turn to our big brother.

"Aright, Leonardo," Kate says, "Can you smell anything coming from that direction," she points toward the beyond.

"How could I smell anything when all I can smell is him?!" Leo howls, gesturing at Raph.

Raph snaps back," Well sorry if my blood smells good."

"Let me try," Felix says. He grabs Leo's shoulders and faces him to the north. "Alright, Leonardo, take a deep breath and-"

HOWL!

The bushes break apart as two hound's pound out. They have no eyes, a big nose, sharp teeth and are as scary as the horse Aro was on. They stop when they smell the three Suides.

I swallow hard." Donnie," I say. A growl from Leo gets my attention. His eyes are huge and zeroed in on the hounds. His wings are ruffling up. A hound barks angrily and lunges at Leo. I yelp.

THWACK!

The air fills with that sound as Leo smacks that dog so hard it flies clear down the path. Leo turns on the second one and lets out a battle cry. We all gap at the fangs that come from his mouth.

The hound runs to his fallen comrade. Leo sprints after it.

"WHEW!" Felix yells," WE'VE GOTTA HUNT NOW!" Then takes off after Leo.

Kate looks over at us," We'll bring your brother back in the morning. Just keep walkin', and do not draw attention to yourselves."

Then she's gone, too.

After a minute of silence, I snort," Heh, heh, you smell good, Raph."

He lunges and hits me on top of the head.

That was so worth it, though.

April looks down the path where Leo disappeared. The sun is gone. The stars are out. We hear screams behind us and howls in front of us.

"You heard the Suides," Shredder says," Let's move. I would like to meet Leonardo at Three Crossing."

I shake as a howl cuts the air. A pain filled one. This is going to be a long night.

My friends start walking forward. I take a deep breath and walk forward, too. I still have two big brothers. I got to remember that.

Still two.

Still two… plus a suicidal bloodsucker.


	11. Three Crossing

9: April

Three Crossing

We did as the Suides said and walked all night. And they and Donnie were correct. We made it to Three Crossing by morning. Leo meets us about an hour after sunrise. From here we can see Old Jack. He chimes seven right as Leo, Felix and Kate run up.

Leo almost looks drunk. Blood is all over his face. He is laughing with his new found friends.

"So…" Raph hisses," have a fun night?"

Leo hiccups," Ye-yes," then laughs some more.

Kate says," He gave a dreaming kid nightmares that will last weeks. I never knew a Suide that could do that!"

"You gave a kid nightmares!" Donnie says in surprise ," Good grief, Leo!"

Leo smiles," I didn't mean to." Then he hiccups.

"Well," I sigh, turning to the giant eight foot tall wood sign behind me," We're here. Three Crossing."

Two signs point down the path we came from, saying ABANDON and DRIMMERWOOD. The sign to my right says is shining blue BAVANDA. To my left, the sign says TIRBURY. Then in front of me is WAR HAVEN. Interesting names.

I gasp in surprise as a train passes by us at top speed. The locomotive was here one second, gone the next.

The seven of us gather around the wood post, as cars and people start passing us by.

"Alright, guys," Donnie says, "I've got the game plan. Leo, Felix, Kate, I want you guys to head over to Bavanda. See if you can get our eighth person and some water."

"Got it," Kate nods.

"Wait," Mikey says, "Isn't Leo supposed to be telling us what to do?"

"I'm letting it pass," Leo simply replies.

"oh…"

Don continues "Casey, Raph, you two go to War Haven. Ask about our eighth person and the anchor. The rest of us will head over to Tirbury. We'll also look for the eighth person and get something for us to all eat. We'll meet back here before sunset so the Suides can give their report before they head out. Go it, everybody!"

"SET!" We all yell.

But then Raph says, "Why does Leo have to be with the Suides?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Leo asks, sourly.

Raph glares at him, "Because I think they'll be a bad influence on you and you'll start cutting more than just your wrists!"

"I've already cut more than just my wrists! And you guys still didn't see it!"

"ENOUGH!" Donnie howls, "YOU, TO WAR HAVEN! YOU, TO BAVANDA! I'LL SEE YOU BOTH TONIGHT!"

"You heard, Donnie," Leo sneers, "Go on to War Haven." With that, Leo Kate and Felix fly off to Bavanda. Raph grumbles under his breath as he and Casey march off.

Donnie sighs," Okay, we ready to go?"

We nod. Well, I and Mikey do anyway. Shredder starts leaving us behind immediately.

Mikey sighs," I can't help but pray that the Nightmare Lord takes him."

Donnie nods as he begins to walk, "That's a nice dream, Mikey, but, unfortunately, Leo made a deal with him. We're stuck."

"Yeah," Mikey grumps, "unfortunately."

"You think the others will be okay?" I ask.

"Since Raph and Leo are separated, yeah, they'll be fine." Don smiles.

Somehow, I have doubts about that.


	12. The Hamato Brothers (Part 1)

10: Donnie

THE HAMATO BROTHERS (Part 1)

The city of Tirbury looks like a mid-evil city. Cobblestone floors, stone and wood buildings, and screaming marketers holding out random things to buy. But the Dream world is ever changing. An actual mall that looks like it's from New York City stands to the north of us.

"Okay, guys," I say, "spread out. Get food and see if there's any news on our eighth person."

"On it, D," Mikey says happily. He grabs Aprils hand and drags her toward the mall. I almost wish April was coming with me. Shredder glares at me, and then heads down an alley. Since he's the boss of New York City's underworld, I'm gonna trust he knows what he's doing. That he has connections.

As I walk the opposite way of the others, I take the brown bag from my belt. When I open it, a shine of gold reflects off of the sun. Gold and jewels lie in the bag. Emeralds, topaz, diamonds and jewels I have never seen before shine at me. Be 'Joke told me to go to a man named Corin, a shop keeper who is hiding from the law. He said I would find him here. When I asked how I would find him, Be 'Joke said I'll know when I see him. That was all the answers he gave me. Not what to do when I find him. Not what I'm supposed to know after I find him. Nada. Anmari.

"Hey," A rough voice growls at me. I look up. I've come to an end of an alley. The end is blocked off by brick. Leaning against it is a one-eyed wolf and a big white alligator. They both look like crooks that could take me out in a second.

"Hey," the alligator growls again," I'm talkin' to you. What you doing down our alley, punk."

I blink, calculating what their first move will be. I answer," I'm looking for somebody."

The wolf snorts," Well, you ain't gon find nobody here, wart. So go crawl back to your egg before we lay some hurt on ya'."

I bite my lip. These thugs are lying. I can see it in the alligator's tail and the wolf's voice. Someone is here, and that someone might be Corin.

"I am not leaving," I say, "till I see Corin."

The two animals look at each other. That's when I know that Corin is here.

The alligator slowly takes out a machine gun while the wolf's hand appears as a hook. At that I grab my Bo staff and expose its blade.

"Let's see what you got, boy," the wolf snarls, sizing me up.

Then something occurs to me as the animals draw closer. Maybe I don't have to fight. Maybe my words will save me this time.

I cock my head to the side and smile, saying, "I am Hamato Donatello. And you wouldn't fight a Hamato, would you?"

My logic was accurate. The two stop when they hear Hamato. The stare at me, eyes hard, "How do we know you are a Hamato?"

"Because my father is a Hamato. I have two older brothers and-"

"Leonardo and Raphael." The wolf mumbles quietly.

I pause," What?"

"You're Donnie," the alligator says backing up, "the third elder. The smartie."

The smartie. "Wait," I say, "How did you-"

"Corin," the wolf howls back at the brick wall, "we got a Hamato here. The one you wanted."

I watch in awe as the plain wall splits in half and reveals a white-blond haired man who's in his early thirty's standing, waiting it seems like. He eyes me with his white colored eyes, while I notice his human like work clothes, rumpled and creased.

"So, you must be Donatello." He says, partly smiling," Leonardo said you were the smartie. That is why you were given this task."

"What task?" I ask. And what does Leo have to do with anything?

Corin smiles and nods into his black hole of a room, "Follow me, and you'll get all the answers you'll need."


End file.
